阿卜迪勒·阿里船長：從瓦吉爾乾旱平原到肯亞海上走廊

阿卜迪勒·阿里船長的一生是一個面對困難和不確定性時堅韌不拔的故事。這是一段1965年在瓦吉爾縣貧瘠平原開始的旅程

Captain Abdille Ali's life is a tale of resilience in the face of hardships and uncertainty.

阿卜迪勒·阿里船長的一生是一個面對困難和不確定性時堅韌不拔的故事。

It is a journey that began in 1965 in the barren plains of Wajir County, amidst the arid expanse of Tarbaj village.

這段旅程始於 1965 年，地點是瓦吉爾縣貧瘠的平原、塔爾巴吉村 (Tarbaj) 的乾旱地區。

Born into modest beginnings, Ali now commands Kenya’s maritime destiny. At his tender age, early mornings when the sun rose like a molten coin, Ali would follow the camels to graze.

阿里出身卑微，如今掌控著肯亞的海洋命運。在他很小的時候，在清晨，當太陽像融化的硬幣一樣升起時，阿里就會跟著駱駝去吃草。

The crunch of dry earth beneath his bare feet and wind carrying the scent of thorn bushes sang of distant lands he hadn’t yet imagined.

他赤腳踩在乾燥的土地上，發出嘎吱嘎吱的聲音，風帶著荊棘叢的氣味，歌唱著他還沒想像到的遙遠國度。

His father, Ali Abdi Abdille, was withdrawn in every way, and Ali didn't know that the mzee was his greatest source of inspiration for navigating the deep oceans of this world.

他的父親阿里·阿卜迪·阿卜迪勒 (Ali Abdi Abdille) 性格孤僻，阿里並不知道 mzee 是他在這個世界的深海航行的最大靈感來源。

The death of his mother, Habiba Abdille, shortly after his birth, hung over him like the desert’s relentless sun, but it didn’t break him - it hardened him, like the land itself.

他的母親哈比巴·阿卜迪勒在他出生後不久就去世了，就像沙漠無情的太陽一樣籠罩著他，但這並沒有擊垮他，而是讓他變得堅強，就像這片土地本身一樣。

"My father always told me; situations are not permanent. No matter how tough life gets, God can do wonders to turn things around. This wisdom has guided me through every challenge that I have faced in life," Ali said.

「我的父親總是告訴我，情況不是永久的。無論生活變得多麼艱難，上帝都能創造奇蹟來扭轉局面。這種智慧引導我度過了生活中面臨的每一個挑戰，」阿里說。

School was a distant mirage; a luxury few could afford in Wajir those day. Yet, when Ali finally sat on the rough wooden benches of Tarbaj Primary School, it was clear he wasn’t just another boy from the village.

學校是遙遠的海市蜃樓；那時，在瓦吉爾，很少人能買得起這種奢侈品。然而，當阿里最終坐在塔爾巴吉小學粗糙的木凳上時，很明顯地他不僅僅是村裡的另一個男孩。

He absorbed knowledge as the desert absorbs rain, soaking in every lesson despite the hunger gnawing at his belly. The poverty was spread everywhere. It wasn’t until a feeding program was introduced in class six that things began to stabilise.

他吸收知識就像沙漠吸收雨水一樣，儘管飢餓折磨著他的肚子，但他還是沉浸在每一堂課中。貧困遍及各地。直到六年級引入餵食計畫後，情況才開始穩定下來。

"Going to school was never certain. Hunger was a constant companion. Our sister’s hands bore the marks of menial jobs, not for coins but for crumbs to keep us alive. Growing up, poverty was a constant shadow. I remember seeing a District Officer vehicle doing medical supplies only once every six months. That scarcity fuelled my determination to rise above it," he narrated.

「上學從來都不是一件確定的事情。飢餓始終伴隨著我們。我們姊姊的手上有做卑微工作的痕跡，不是為了硬幣，而是為了維持我們生存的麵包屑。在成長過程中，貧窮一直是一個陰影。

Opportunity called when he earned a place at Starehe Boys Centre in 1980 but fear of the unknown from his family clipped his wings. He was forced to attend Wajir High School the year that followed.

1980 年，當他在 Starehe 男孩中心獲得一席之地時，機會來了，但對家人未知的恐懼卻讓他折斷了翅膀。第二年，他被迫進入瓦吉爾高中。

He excelled, his brilliance undeniable, catching the attention of a compassionate headmaster who secured a sponsorship for him from the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation.

他表現出色，才華橫溢，引起了一位富有同情心的校長的注意，校長為他獲得了喬莫·肯雅塔基金會的贊助。

That sponsorship was more than money—it was a lifeboat in a sea of poverty.

這筆贊助不僅僅是金錢——它是貧困海洋中的救生艇。

"Growing up in a rural setting with scarce role models and limited access to literature, I found a guiding light in my headteacher's mentorship. This mentorship not only filled the void but also instilled in me a resilience and belief in the transformative power of knowledge and perseverance, shaping my outlook and aspirations in profound ways,” Ali said.

「我在鄉村長大，榜樣稀缺，接觸文學的機會也有限，我在校長的指導下找到了指路明燈。這種指導不僅填補了空白，而且向我灌輸了一種韌性，並相信知識和知識的變革力量。

After high school, fate beckoned him skyward, promising a future as an aircraft pilot. But as fate often does, it played a cruel hand—another boy took his place. Ali didn’t lament long.

高中畢業後，命運向他招手，讓他成為飛行員。但正如命運經常做的那樣，它殘酷地發揮了作用——另一個男孩取代了他的位置。阿里並沒有哀嘆太久。

He turned his gaze to the sea, where the Navy offered not just a job but a purpose.

他把目光轉向了大海，海軍提供的不僅是一份工作，更是一個目標。

I didn’t mourn the lost chance. What mattered was earning a living, feeding my family, and lifting them from the clutches of hunger.

我並沒有為失去的機會而哀悼。重要的是謀生，養活家人，讓他們擺脫飢餓。

The navy was a place where merit mattered. Everything was standardised, and career progression was based purely on what you could do, not who you knew,” Ali remembers.

海軍是一個注重功績的地方。一切都是標準化的，職業發展完全取決於你能做什麼，而不是你認識誰，」阿里回憶道。

The sea welcomed him. He joined the Kenya Navy in 1988, training rigorously at the Army Force Training Institute and later at Britannia Royal Navy College in the UK. Life at sea wasn’t forgiving—storms tested his mettle, and the vastness of the ocean mirrored the emptiness he once felt in the desert.

大海歡迎他。他於 1988 年加入肯亞海軍，先後在陸軍訓練學院和英國皇家海軍學院接受嚴格訓練。海上的生活並不寬容──暴風雨考驗著他的勇氣，浩瀚的海洋映照著他曾經在沙漠中感受到的空虛。

But just as he had learned to read the shifting sands, he learned to navigate the restless waves.

但就像他學會了解讀流沙一樣，他也學會了駕馭洶湧的波浪。

By 1993, he had earned the rank of captain. In 1994, his path took him to Rwanda and Liberia, where peacekeeping missions exposed him to humanity’s darkest chapters.

1993年，他獲得了上尉軍銜。 1994 年，他前往盧安達和賴比瑞亞，在那裡執行維和任務，讓他親眼目睹了人類最黑暗的篇章。

The memories of streets strewn with bodies weighed heavily on him, but they also forged his resilience. He returned to Kenya, stronger yet more reflective, and continued rising through the naval ranks.

街道上屍橫遍野的記憶給他帶來了沉重的負擔，但也鍛鍊了他的韌性。他回到肯亞，變得更堅強，也更善於思考，並在海軍隊伍中不斷晉升。

In 2001, when the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) faced a crisis—a shortage of marine pilots—Ali once again answered the call. Transitioning from the military to the commercial maritime world, he embraced the challenge, completing advanced navigation training in Egypt.

2001年，當肯亞港務局（KPA）面臨航海引航員短缺危機時，阿里再次響應號召。從軍事領域轉向商業航海界，他接受了挑戰，在埃及完成了高級航海訓練。

The boy who once followed camels under a scorching sun was now guiding colossal ships through bustling ports.

曾經在烈日下追趕駱駝的男孩如今正引導巨輪駛過繁忙的港口。

He joined as a senior Marine Pilot, rising to the rank of chief pilot and manager Pilotage.

他加入時是一名高級海軍飛行員，後來晉升為首席飛行員和領航經理。

By 2022, he had risen to Harbour

到2022年，他已經晉升到Harbor